Monday, March 21, 2011

Alcohol killed my wallet over Spring Break! Last Monday, the wife and I decided it would be fun to leave town for a few days but it was probably a bad idea (credit cards). We both drank way too much and each bar we stopped at the average bill was $85. We went to a city with a lot of lights and gambling where the average price of a beer is $7 and mixed drinks $10. We came back Wednesday night and were very happy to be home until our friends called the next day and mentioned something about St. Patrick's day...

We started St. Patrick's with drinks around noon and left for our local Irish pub around 4:30 pm. We were looking for live music but the pipers had already left. The name of the pub was Fox and Hound and our tab there was $135.00. We left there after 9 and went to some other pub, I can't even remember the name. All I remember is it was packed and everyone was wearing green. The tab at this bar was only $82 plus tip. After some drama we made it home safely around 1 AM.

Then comes the weekend...

Friday we decided it would be fun to head down to the beach to finish off Spring Break. We went down to Galveston TX and of course on the way in had to stop at another bar. The tab there was only $55. Then we stopped at the local Walmart and spent more money on alcohol. Can't have Spring Break without Corona, Bud Light, mixers and some food. The bill there was $113.34...

Sunday was supposed to be a non drinking day but we still decided to crack open some champagne and make mimosas. It was a beautiful day and the weather was sunny in the 70's, we did not want to go home.

We got home yesterday around 7 PM. In all, it was a great Spring Break but looking at Citi this morning it looks like we added close to $900 dollars just on alcohol. Of course this is not helping the debt situation. I don't think all this partying was necessary but we had fun, hopefully I can pay this back this month.

16 comments:

I am sorry maybe its just me because I do not drink anymore , but that has got to be the DUMBEST THING I have ever heard of . $900 on ALCOHOL ! WTF ? WHY ? That is $900 you just shit out the window ! You could have paid down a lot of your debt with that. I Just do not understand the thought process in that ! (shaking my head )

I splurged on a vac then steam and Birkenstocks. Both went on my credit card (that was at $0.) The vac then steam is for the cleaning business (I hate lugging a dustbuster, broom, and mop to each job.)

The birks are because the only shoes I own are: snow boots, sneakers, and a very fall/winter type everyday shoe. Birk sandals will last me at least 2 years and are so good for my feet, so that is good.

But the truth is I did not have money for either.

So now my credit card is back up to almost $500 (forgot to mention the vac then steam was $400 for two with shipping and 2 year warranty. I got the extra for my sister who is also a single mom. The shoes were $100.)

I say this with love because we all come here to support you and encourage you to get your life and money on track...but you are the trainwreck we all can't stop watching either. You continually, over and over again, make bad choices! It's like you have no impulse control. You didn't go back into debt (Didn't you just pay this card off in the post previous to this one and then you were going to call and cancel the card??!!) because your car broke down or a medical bill came in. You went back into debt because you went on a week long alcohol fueled vacation that you couldn't afford. Instead of saying "a lot of money came from savings" you should be saying "we saved up and spent money on a vacation with cash and didn't touch our emergency fund - yay us!" I hope you and your wife figure out your money issues, I truly do. You guys can do it, I know you can!

Frugality is about spending on what is important to you. If vacations are it, don't beat yourself up over it, just set yourself up for it ahead of time next time.

You might as well enjoy the alcohol while you can ... I'm pregnant with my first and I'm spending nothing on alcohol even though I don't object to drinking during pregnancy. And if you plan to be out partying while your wife has morning sickness, you're a brave man:)

In light of this post, I definitely think you should take my advice and take your wife camping :) As I said in my comment reply to yours, it is a very frugal, fun way to spend a weekend- or longer- plus you get to be active.

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